


Wanderer

by paradiamond



Category: Bitten (TV), Women of the Otherworld - Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Jeremy takes to that about how you'd expect, Mutt Elena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-07-22 15:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7444768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradiamond/pseuds/paradiamond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elena decides to leave the Pack shortly after her first Christmas with them, choosing to become a Mutt instead of a Pack member. But first she needs to tell Jeremy. </p><p>Then, alone and adapting to yet another new life, she receives a invitation she can't refuse from another Mutt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jeremy

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thrown back into Bitten like a tornado dumped me here, so have a fic about an AU I've always wondered about. Possibly to be continued (:

Elena leans against the outer wall of the house, facing the backyard and the woods beyond. The wind brushes her face, deceptively gentle. She digs her feet in and presses harder, feeling the stone behind her back and the earth beneath her feet like living things, imbued with the energy that comes from being a home to so many generations. Certain buildings at the University felt the same way. They contained memory, even if they weren’t that old. She had never grown up with buildings like this, but it feels like Stonehaven is open to her now. 

Of course, she had been living here for months, but this is the first time she had felt she was allowed to stay, that the house was waiting for her. Ever since she had been bitten she either lived at Stonehaven or in nameless streets, aimlessly leaving a trail of destruction and death. She shivers and privately blames it on the winter wind. 

“Are you alright?” a voice calls out, deep and carefully neutral.

Elena tries to turn her jump of surprise into simply turning around, but the slight smirk on Jeremy’s face tells her she hadn’t been too successful. She tries and probably fails to smile back. “I’m fine, you?” 

“You seem deep in thought,” Jeremy says, ignoring her question. “Didn’t you like the party?” 

This time her smile is smaller, but real. The pack had come together for the week to celebrate Christmas, for _her_. It had been overwhelming, but ultimately nice. 

“Yeah, I did.” Elena straightens up and makes a show of changing the subject. “Did Peter leave?”

Jeremy tilts his head, his dark eyes studying her, and no doubt seeing right through her, but he lets it go. “Not yet, he wants to say goodbye to you. Then it’s just us again, I’m afraid.” 

_Not for long_ , Elena thinks, her gaze darting over to the tree line, half expecting Clay to come bounding out any second. 

After she had requested that Jeremy undo his banishment in thanks for the Christmas, which had been Clay’s idea, he had agreed, but said they should wait until the rest of the pack left and things had gone back to normal. Apparently she’s included in that normal now. 

“Great,” she says, not at all convincingly. “Let’s go say goodbye.” 

Jeremy smiles at her as they walk, obviously misunderstanding her mood. “He’ll be back soon. They all will.” 

Elena doesn’t respond. That’s what she’s afraid of. 

She watches Peter, who jokingly tells her that he’s always the last to leave, slide into the back of a cab and wave through the window. She smiles back reflexively, wondering if Jeremy will call Clay right away or wait. Wondering how much time she has to act. Either way, she wants it to be soon. 

“Should we go to the study?” Jeremy asks, once the car had disappeared from sight, already walking in that direction. 

“Sure,” Elena responds quietly, trying to quell her growing guilt. She has to get Jeremy in a corner by playing him. There’s just no other way. She’s already not proud of it, but it’s necessary. 

Apparently unaware of her growing unease, Jeremy sits down in front of his easel and they fall into silence. Elena watches him, thinking that maybe this is how he felt about keeping her in a cage for almost a year. If so, she figures he can take it. 

Jeremy is sketching a female figure, surrounded by trees. Elena watches with growing fear and even more guilt, wondering if it might be her. Eventually, she buries it all and decides to just get it over with. Like ripping off a bandaid, or surrendering to the Change. No more waiting, no more cages, no more guilt. She can’t hide behind these walls anymore. 

“So, I think I’m getting the hang of this,” Elena says as casually as she can, absently running her finger over the cover of an old book on the end table next to her. 

Jeremy smiles without looking up, not needing to know that ‘this’ means her new life. “I think so too.” 

“Thanks,” she tries to sound nonchalant, almost bored. “I just wish I could still do the things I used to do, you know?” 

He turns and meets her eyes, curiosity evident in his gaze. “Such as?”

Elena shrugs. “You know, normal stuff. A job, errands. I miss it now that I’m not feeling like I might explode at any moment and devour the townsfolk.” 

A small smiles curves over his lips, so she smirks back. Jackpot.

“I hardly think you need to be so concerned about that at this point, Elena.” 

Elena sits up straighter, giving him her entire focus. “Really?” 

Jeremy nods and turns back to the paper, apparently unconcerned by this line of questioning. “Yes. You’re not as dangerous as you fear, not at this point.”

“You think I could be around people again? Hold down a job?” 

“I do. Maybe you should apply for some positions in town. You’ve come a long way.” 

“A long way,” she repeats. It’s too easy. Jeremy doesn’t seem to notice the hole she had dug for him, which is unlike him. Maybe he had forgotten to be wary of her, to keep one eye open at all times. Elena hopes so. “So long that I don’t need to stay here anymore?”

Jeremy freezes, arm halfway extended towards the paper. He recovers, but not quickly enough. “Well, it could be logistically possible. But for now it’s best that you live here.” 

She hums, as though she’s considering it. “Sure, as long as I’m part of the pack.” 

“Of course,” Jeremy says automatically, and then frowns. “Elena…”

Elena drops the act, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, hands clasped in front of her. “You just said that I was ready enough to-”

Jeremy turns, the full force of his gaze landing on her. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but she doesn’t move. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean that you are fully ready to live on your own. I won’t allow it. I won’t send you to your death.” 

She tilts her head, fixing him with an unimpressed look. “You wouldn’t be sending me anywhere.”

“I see,” he considers her in silence for a long minute before continuing on in a much calmer tone. “What about Clay? What happens to him in this hypothetical situation where you leave us?”

It’s a dig she had been expecting, one she had prepared a response to, but it still rankles. How dare he bring Clay, the man who put her in this situation, into this conversation. 

“What about him?” she throws back, getting irritated in spite of her resolve not to. 

“You know what it would do to him.” 

“He’ll live.” Elena sits back, crossing her arms against her chest. “I did.” 

Jeremy arches an eyebrow at her, clearly still holding onto the belief that they’re only speaking about possibilities, that this is just an extension of their previous arguments. “Why ask for his banishment to be removed only to leave before he gets here?” 

“I asked for you to let him back in as a thank you for Christmas, and because I don’t want him out there when I am. It’s over between us, it has to be.” 

Jeremy sighs. “So this is about revenge. I would have thought that you were done making choices with Clay in mind.”

Elena scoffs. “Nice try.” 

“I’m quite serious.” 

“So am I. This is it Jeremy.” 

He hesitates, slowly seeming to realize that she means it. “No. That’s absolutely ridiculous. I won’t allow it.” 

“I’m not asking you to. I’m just leaving.”

“As a mutt?” he asks, possibly more sharply than he intended. 

Elena places her hands in her lap and maintains her position. She won’t bend, not today. “Yes.” 

Jeremy leans back slightly, eyes widening slightly. Then he stands. “Why are you saying this? I thought we had passed the suicidal phase of your transition. You absolutely cannot-”

“Yes, I can.”

Jeremy’s eyes narrow. “Don’t interrupt me. You cannot simply leave the pack.” 

She raises an eyebrow at him, determined to be the calm one for once, to outdo him at his own game. Her hands are shaking, itching to move, to lash out, but she holds them tightly together. “I was never a part of it.”

Jeremy shakes his head. “You were. Of course you are. Didn’t you just say that you enjoyed Christmas? Being with the Pack?” 

She shakes her head back. “I did, but no. I’m not, and I don’t want to be.” 

“Once again, it’s not up to you.” 

Elena tips her head back. “It is though. I’ve read all the rules, and all the histories. It’s hard to get into the Pack, not to leave it. I understand that you’re frustrated with me, and that you’re worried I’ll put you at risk-”

His hand curls into a fist at his side, the only outward sign of his frustration. “And yourself. You’ll die out there.”

“I might,” Elena responds, as firmly and calmly as she can. It’s taking everything she has, all the fragile control she had stored up, to not jump to her feet and match him, to meet challenge with challenge. He’s certainly waiting for it, waiting for her to mess up so he can claim lack of control and defiance and put her back in the cage. She stays still. “And I might not. But this is the decision that I’m making for myself.” 

He’s openly studying her now, clearly trying to get around her answer, to find the flaw in her argument. Too bad he doesn’t realize that the debate had ended before it had begun. Jeremy takes a deep breath, clearly calming himself down to better argue his point. 

“You should at least speak to him before you go.” 

Elena rolls her eyes. “Clay? Why? So he can throw things and scream and help you put me back in the cage? I don’t think so.” 

Jeremy shakes his head. “He’ll be miserable.”

“Good.” Elena meets his eyes evenly. “I’m miserable. He did this to both of us.”

“Fine. Forget Clay,” Jeremy says quickly. “What exactly do you plan to do when another mutt comes for you? Do you really think that you’ll make it out of this alive? You’re the only female werewolf in the world.”

Elena shakes her head. “We’ve had this debate before, and I’m done. Ok? This is what’s happening. I’m leaving the pack.” 

“No,” Jeremy says with perfect confidence. “If you just wanted to leave us you would have slipped out in the night and left me a voicemail. You know that this is bad idea, and you’re reaching out today, the day I intend to ask Clayton to come home, so that I will stop you. I have protected you so far and I will continue to do so, even if it’s from yourself. Listen to me.”

Elena frowns, wondering how much of his insight is true, how big the part of her that wants to stay really is. But the biggest part, the smartest part, know that she has to go. She stands up, Jeremy tracking her every move, but maintains the space between them. “I know you’ve protected me, that’s why I’m doing this in person. I could have left last night, or a week ago, or even six months ago, but I didn’t.” 

“Why not?” Jeremy asks, more sharply than she’s used to hearing. It’s hard to get a rise out of Jeremy over anything. Apparently this is the way to do it. 

“I wanted to make sure that it was safe for other people,” Elena responds, going for honesty. Jeremy shifts his weight t his other foot and she feels the need to bolt from the room. Standing might have been a mistake, but she powers through it. “I couldn’t take it if I- if I hurt another person again.” 

“You still could,” Jeremy says, his words clipped. 

She glares. “You just told me ten minutes ago that-”

“Yes, and I meant it, but you will never be completely safe,” Jeremy insists, taking a step closer to her. “Didn’t you hear what happened with Peter? That’s why you need the Pack. It’s for the support they can give, and the security. We keep each other safe.” 

Of all the things he could have said. She looks away, her breath catching in her throat, and she’s sure Jeremy knows it. She sure that he knows how much she wants a family, how much those stupid, childish, and irrational dreams had never left her. Having the entire Pack over for the holidays had mirrored some of the actual dreams she had as a child. Between Peter’s good natured teasing, Nick’s easy laughter, Logan’s genuine understanding, and Antonio’s simple kindness, Elena had seen a path for herself that was as enticing as it was built on a foundation of wrongness and control. It would be so easy to just stay. Too easy. 

Elena takes a deep breath and meets his eyes again. “I understand what you’re saying, I really do. But I believe that I’m ready to go, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Jeremy is slowly shaking his head but she presses on. “I appreciate what you’ve done for me, and I hope we can still be civil, even now that I’m a mutt.” 

“You are not,” he says at a near whisper. 

“I am. I won’t make any trouble, I won’t kill, and I won’t stay in one place for too long.” She starts to turn in the direction of the door and Jeremy takes a step forward, his intent clear. Elena holds her ground. “Are you going to tackle me? We can do it that way.”

Jeremy hesitates. “I would rather not.”

“But you will.” Elena shakes her head. “That’s the problem. I can’t live like this anymore.” 

“You just need to-”

“No. If you fight me, I’ll fight back. I’ll fight until I’m dead this time.” 

Jeremy leans away, and says nothing. He looks worried, and Elena feels the guilt creeping back up. Normally, she would have been yelling by this point. She steps forward instead of back and sees his shoulders relax slightly. 

“Look, this is what I have to do. You can kill me now, or later when I escape from the cage, or you can let me walk out the door, but I’m leaving the Pack one way or another.” 

A line appears in between Jeremy’s eyebrows, but still he says nothing. Maybe there’s nothing to say anymore. It’s fine with her. She turns and walks away. The few things she’s taking with her are already stashed in the front hall closet. All she has to do now is leave. She trails her fingers along the doorframe, feeling the weight, like the memories are embedded in the wood. She never belonged here. 

“Elena?”

She turns, deciding she can give him that at least. “Yes?”

Jeremy studies her for a long moment before going on, his dark eyes tired and his mouth set in a hard line. “Be careful. Pride goes before the fall.” 

Elena tilts her head, giving him one last, long look. It’s perhaps the best thing he could have said to get her out the door. Some instinct or habit creeps up, and she wants to shoot something back, to get in his face and fight, but she doesn’t. They both know that they’re done here. 

“Take care of yourself Jeremy,” Elena says, and means it. 

Then she’s gone.


	2. Karl Marsten

It’s a hot night, but pretty much every night is in Cordoba, Argentina. Elena weaves her way through the throngs of people, muted irritation growing to full on rage. Why did she have to pick a city with such an active night life? She should have stuck to cold places when she decided to travel. 

Someone knocks into her shoulder, nearly tipping her over. She glares, and they say something to her in Spanish, which she doesn't speak or understand. Elena makes herself give them a strained smile and walk away, reminding herself that she’s the one that chose to come to a Spanish speaking country. She’s the one that wanted to experience new things, and this is what she gets. 

Part of it was the pure desire to see things she had never gotten the chance to see before. She had always done the sensible thing of staying in one place and building from that stable point. She worked hard in school, at work, and at her human relationships. Then Clay had come and knocked her down. There’s nothing left for her to build, not anymore, so why shouldn’t she just go? After leaving Stonehaven for good, Elena couldn’t think of a good reason not to, and could think of plenty of reasons for the idea, so she drained her accounts of what little money she still had left and went. 

She catches the hint of a scent on the wind and freezes, her muscles locking down. For a heart pounding second, she feels fear, the desire to run, to run further, before she realizes that it makes sense that she would smell another werewolf here. Irritated with herself, she straightens her back and tries to ignore the strange looks aimed her way. _They’re not here._ She forcibly reminds herself. _The Pack is not here. It’s just your meeting._

She keeps walking, freshly resentful at having to do this at all, and annoyed at her so-called date for reminding her of the biggest reason for leaving the country in the first place. It was necessary to put distance between her and Stonehaven. Between her and Jeremy, and by extension, Clay. 

He’s looking for her, somewhere. Elena has no doubt about that. It doesn’t matter that it had been months already, he would have started searching for her as soon as he heard she left and Jeremy almost definitely backed him. She’s not so sure about the others, they barely know her enough to recognize her by sight, but Clay would have been on the first flight to Toronto based on the airline ticket receipts she left in the bottom of her trashcan that Jeremy was sure to find. They’re fake, Elena had no intention of going to Toronto, but Clay won’t have realized that until it was way too late. 

_He definitely realized by now,_ Elena thinks, vaguely wondering where he is while she’s weaving through traffic in Argentina. She’s fairly sure that he’s not in South America at all, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t get there eventually. She’ll have to keep moving. She’ll always have to keep moving now. 

The other good reason she had to travel is that she figured that she’ll be doing a lot of it now, so she might as well get used to it. Mutts don’t get permanent homes. They get chased around the U.S. by Pack members and harassed in Argentina by overly polite and obviously fake werewolf thieves. Elena stops in front of a building, trying to remember the address of the restaurant she’s supposed to be heading to. He had sent it to her on some ridiculous stationary, but she left it in her hotel because she didn’t want to bring a purse on the off chance that he thought she might have a weapon. They had told her that Pack wolves don’t use them, but she had heard the Mutts sometimes do. The last thing she needs is a misunderstanding like that. 

A waiter comes out of the restaurant, clearly heading straight for her. She leaves before he has the chance to talk to her, weaving back into her sea of strangers. Everyone she sees is a stranger nowadays, which is just how she likes it. 

When she first left, she decided to start with places she had always been interested in seeing but had never had to chance to visit. The first place she picked was California...where Antonio Sorrentino just so happened to be doing business. 

Elena had been reading a book on a train when she thought she heard her name. She looked up and saw him through a train window, openly staring at her from the platform, eyes wide, hard raised as if to wave at her. The doors were already closed or she’s sure he would have been on the train in an instant. Elena froze, staring at him with wide eyes. Antonio motioned for her to come down, and then when she didn’t move, banged on the window. People were staring at her, whispering to each other. Elena didn’t move, maybe she should have, but she was irrationally terrified that he might somehow stop the train. The train started to leave, but Antonio didn’t. She could still see him on the platform, jogging along the side of it and talking into his cell phone. 

She got off the train at the first stop and changed to another one headed in the opposite direction. When she got back to her motel, she gathered up her things and booked it out of town, deciding the continental United States was too close to danger after all. Within days she crossed the US/Mexico border as a wolf, having sent copies of all her major forms of ID on ahead through the mail, leaving the originals in a safety deposit box under an assumed name. It was a good plan. 

She knew that, eventually, her luck would run out again. Which it did. Karl Marsten found her almost as soon as she crossed into Argentina, following her from city to city until she agreed to have one of his dinners with him. Hopefully it won’t be her last. 

In the end, she finds Marsten by scent, following it all the way from the street to his table, spotting him almost right away. An attractive man, if not as attractive as he seems to think. He’s wearing a lightweight but still clearly expensive suit, peering at her over his wine glass as she approaches. If he’s surprised to see her appear without a waiter in sight, he doesn’t show it. Elena tries not to show anything either, like how her temper threatens to boil over when he gets up to pull her chair out for her. He sits back down when she does, openly studying her. 

“Good evening. You look lovely,” he says smoothly, accent almost too pleasant. She’s sure that he practices it. 

Elena arches an eyebrow at him. “Thank you, I fished this dress out of a donation bin.” 

Marsten smiles at her, all teeth. “You didn’t have to go through the effort for me.”

“I didn’t. I’m trying to blend in here.”

He shrugs. “Don’t bother, you’ll be leaving soon.” 

Elena says nothing. Her first instinct is to argue, but she knows Marsten by reputation. Whenever he comes to a new area, he tracks down any and all Mutts and shows them a lovely evening. Then he makes it clear that whatever city, town, or country they’re in is not big enough for the two of them. Failure to agree is met with a short fight resulting in a quick but painful death. Elena has no desire to argue with him. She doesn’t care about Argentina that much. 

Their staring contest is interrupted by their waiter, who gives Elena a cool once over before turning much more interested eyes on Marsten, who responds right away, ordering for both of them in Spanish. 

Elena watches him go with mild amusement, grateful for the distraction. “Is he gay or just aware that you’re the one with the money?” 

“Both, I would guess,” Marten replies smoothly and winks at her. 

She rolls her eyes. “Ok, well. Message received. I’ll be out of here in a few hours. You don’t have to worry about me stepping on your toes.” 

He laughs. “Why would I be worried about that? What are you? 120 pounds? I wouldn’t even be able to feel it.” 

She gives him a dry look. “Hilarious.”

“I usually am,” he replies, but she can see him getting bored with the banter. Elena tilts her head, considering him. Marsten just sits back and picks his wine glass back up, the picture of arrogance. 

“Doesn’t it get irritating pretending to be this asinine?”

Again, Marsten shrugs, but she can see real interest developing in his eyes. “Yes and no. It’s a useful persona in my line of work.” 

“You’re wearing a person suit,” Elena says, snidely. 

He nods at her. “So are you.” 

Elena leans back in her seat, annoyed and a little stung. The buzz of the restaurant is getting on her nerves. Too many people with too many loud opinions and far too many scents. 

“Fair enough,” she manages, through her teeth. Marsten laughs. 

“So I take it you don’t intend to challenge me on my territory. That’s smart.” He leans forward a bit, fresh consideration in his eyes. “I heard you were smart.”

“From who?” Elena asks before she can help herself. 

“See? Smart.” Marsten raises an eyebrow at her, clearly imitating her expression from before, and doesn’t answer her question. Elena presses her lips together, annoyed. 

It had to be a Park member. No one else knows her well enough to make a judgement like that. It’s either that or he’s making it up. She taps her fingers nervously against her knee and decides that it doesn’t matter. She’ll be gone as soon as they’re done here. 

She’s saved from having to say anything else by the arrival of their food. There’s a lot of it. Elena stares down at the now very full table with disdain, trying to ignore how good it looks. “This is excessive.” 

Marsten actually rolls his eyes. “What’s the point of coming to a nice restaurant then?” 

“To try to intimidate me?” she shoots back, leaning back against her chair with her arms crossed. 

He smiles at her again. “That and other things. I could intimidate you anywhere. Here, we have fine wine.” 

Elena glares at him as he the waiters pours for them. She had forgotten he was there, and he’s leaving as soon as she remembers. “I wasn’t sure we would actually be eating.” 

Marsten arches an eyebrow at her. “You’re not hungry? I’m always hungry.” 

Elena shrugs and starts eating, not bothering with anything but the most basic table manners. They eat in near silence, which she normally would never do, but Marsten follows her lead. She wonders if it’s a werewolf thing. The Pack had been the same way. She slows down, the rich food not sitting so well in her stomach, and looks up at see Marsten blatantly watching her. 

“Do you want some advice?” Marsten asks, his tone almost kind. 

She tips her head to the side, pretending to consider. Then she shrugs. “No thanks.”

He smiles, all teeth. “Tough. Get yourself a weapon and learn how to use it.” 

She blinks, fork halfway to her mouth. She lowers it with a frown. “What?”

“I know, werewolves don’t use weapons. You must have been taught that by the pack. But do you know what?” He pauses, clearly waiting for a response. She doesn’t provide one. “Werewolves aren’t women either. We all know that. We all knew it, at least, and now look.”

She doesn’t take her eyes from his. “I’ve seen it and I’m not impressed.” 

He smirks, and the expression looks far more natural than his scary werewolf mask, and more genuine than his gentleman one. “No? Others will be. They’ll have all sorts of ideas about you, and plans. Don’t let them play it out, and don’t try to be wonder woman just because you’re stronger than the humans now. You won’t be stronger than the men who threaten you now, you have to be smarter. A woman and a wolf. Get a weapon, learn to use it.” 

Elena raises an eyebrow at him. “Why do you even care?”

Marsten tilts his head. “Maybe I think you’d make a fair ally in a few years. Maybe I just want to see how you turn out. The life of a mutt can be a bit dull, darling, you’ll see that soon enough.” 

“Seems pretty eventful to me so far.” 

“Perhaps,” he pauses to take a sip of his wine, every movement coming off perfectly choreographed. “Things have seemed different these past few months. Maybe it’s because of you.” 

She frowns. “What?”

“You haven’t heard?” he asks, clearly delighted to be the one to tell her whatever it is. “You’ve caused quite the stir.” 

Elena doesn’t move. “They’ll lose interest.”

He shakes his head. “They won’t, but that’s not what I mean in any case.”

“No? Are you planning to get to the point anytime soon because-”

“Your lover, excuse me, your ex-lover is on something of a rampage.” 

Elena keeps her face carefully blank. She doesn’t bother with claiming that _he’ll_ lose interest. 

Marsten smirks. “Yes, true love is certainly a powerful motivator. Not to mention a vicious one.” 

“What you you mean?”

“Clayton has killed six mutts in as many months,” he says without inflection. When Elena doesn’t respond, he continues. “I know you didn’t know. But I thought you should. It seems he’s clearing a path for you.” 

She wants to call bullshit, but can’t. It’s exactly what he would do. She should have seen it coming herself. 

“Who?”

“Nobody important, just small time trash. No one who will be missed. Oh, and Daniel Santos. I believe he went to him first.” 

“I see,” Elena says, her attention drifting. She hadn’t gotten a chance to meet the infamous formally-Pack werewolf that Clay grew up with, but she knew him by reputation. Now he’s gone. Absently, she wonders if he’ll be missed by anyone. If she’ll be missed when she inevitably dies. Her hand curls around her fork, her knuckles whitening with the pressure. 

“Do you?” Marsten throws back, challenging her. 

She meets his eyes evenly. “Yes, I take your point. It’s not my fault though.”

Marsten scoffs. “No of course not, but it is happening nonetheless.” He takes another sip of wine and sets his glass down. Elena pushes hers away and sets the fork down before she does something violent with it. 

“Are we done here?”

“We can be.” 

“Great.” Elena stands, attracting the attention of several patrons. She can’t bring herself to care. “Are we going Dutch or can I go?”

He grins. “Go. All the way, if you take my meaning.” 

“I do.” Elena turns away. 

“Oh and just so you know, I plan to contact Danvers and tell him where and when we spoke.” 

She whips around. “Excuse me?” 

“You heard me. It won’t put me in Clayton’s favor, but it might keep me off his list. And who knows, our benevolent overlord Jeremy might even-”

“I get it,” Elena snarls, suddenly furious again. Her hands shake, so she curls them into fists. 

Marsten tilts his head, smiling at her again, but there’s a darker undercurrent to it now, a real warning. “Oh come now, don’t be like that. You need me as an ally. I’m doing you a favor as a friend by telling you in advance. I’ll call them tomorrow so you can have a head start.” 

“Do you expect me to thank you?”

“Do you expect me to care? I have bigger fish to fry than you.” 

Elena shakes her head, and some of the shaking subsides. “I thought you wanted to be my ally.”

“I do. This is what that looks like.” Marsten tilts his head to look at her, the grin gone. “You don’t want to see me as your enemy.”

“Charming.”

“Likewise. Run along now,” he says, and waves a hand in her direction, dismissing her. 

She does. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but she know that she’s going to have to learn to pick her battles if she wants to survive out here. Might as well start now. 

Elena leaves the restaurant, and then the city, stripping off her dress as she enters the trees. The wind hits her naked skin, and she relaxes. Then she drops to her hands and knees, ready to change into something better.


	3. Clay.

Elena pants as she runs, her paws pounding the ground, sending drums of impact up through her chest. She’s tearing through a Canadian forest, her pursuer closing in on her heels. She puts her head down and runs harder, cursing her own stupidity. Inevitably, and predictably, Elena had gotten caught because of her own ego and tendency to overthink. 

After the embarrassment of meeting Marsten, she had decided to leave the Americas entirely, but for some reason had also decided that Clay would figure out whatever plane or boat she was planning to leave on somehow and get her. So she decided to get the best of him by going off the grid. The plan was simple. Once she hit the United States, she would run to Alaska and then swim to Russia via the Bering strait. Or, if she got there and decided that wasn’t going to happen, she would charter a small, off the grid type boat. 

Looking back, she can see how living as a mutt was already making her a little crazy. 

She keeps running and running, her pursuer following a step behind. Not attacking, not really. Once or twice he tries to trip her up, but she knows that ultimately he’ll just follow her until she has to stop, even if they do go all the way to the Bering strait. Then he would swim with her to Russia if he had to. Unless she can flat outrun him, which she clearly can’t, there’s no getting out of it. 

She stops, mind made up to simply deal with him, to be so upfront and clear that he can’t help but understand. Short of dragging her all the way back to New York there’s nothing he can do about it. Even then, she’s a mutt now. Jeremy will have to either let her go or kill her. There’s no middle ground as long as she doesn’t make any space for it. 

Of course, her sudden change of heart and also speed has Clay slamming straight into her back and driving them both to the ground. The world tilts, and they roll and flop to into the grass and dirt in an undignified heap. It stops just as jarringly as it started, and Elena sits up first, a little dizzy and a lot irritated. 

Even though he must understand on some level that her abrupt stop must indicate that she has decided not to run anymore, Clay still feels the need to pin her. 

He whines and licks her face. She doesn’t bother to struggle, she had stopped on purpose after all, but Elena finds that she’s reluctant to change back and Clay clearly doesn’t care. They stare at each other, human eyes in wolf faces at an impasse. Elena huffs and turns away. She pointedly settles down to fall asleep, choosing to ignore Clay when he wraps his entire body around hers like a huge, living blanket. It’s not even close to worth it to try to stop him, so Elena buries her face in his fur, knowing that she won’t get more than an inch away from him now. Besides, she’s tired. 

They wake up human. Or at least, Elena wakes up. When she comes back to reality enough to see, Clay looks like he hadn’t slept in weeks. 

She doesn’t comment on it, but when she sits up he follows her exactly, his arms never breaking their circle around her. There are leaves in his hair. She can only imagine what she looks like. She makes a show of stretching muscles, nonchalant and gives him a stern look. 

“I take it you’re under orders to find me?” Elena says finally, unwilling to sit in silence, naked, with her ex-fiance in the middle of the woods anymore. Ridiculous situations like this were a part of why she left in the first place. 

Clay tilts his head slightly, his eyes fixating on hers. “Come back with me.”

She rolls her eyes, aware that she should have expected this. With Jeremy, it had been the long game, with multiple layers of argument and a lot of strategizing on her part. With Clay, it’s this.

“Wow. Subtle.”

“Not forever, just to work out some stuff. You left in a rush and there wasn’t time-”

“For what? I left, end of story. I’m not coming back.” 

Clay nods, obviously trying and failing to seem calm and reasonable. Elena can feel him shaking, they’re pressed so close together it would be hard not to. 

“Right. But you should come back so you can work out the details with Jeremy. He needs to talk to you, and if you’re living-” he glances around the clearing. “-off the grid, then you should check in every once and awhile. It’s been a long time since the Pack has reevaluated its stance on mutts. Jeremy is willing to talk, if you’re willing to listen.” 

Elena blinks at him. “Did you practice that?

He stares at her blankly. “What?”

“Did Jeremy tell you to say that?”

Clay smirks and his arms tightens, just in case she wasn’t as close as physically possible, she guesses. “No, but he did say that this is no way to be a friend.”

Elena frowns and leans away as much as she can to look at him in the face. “What?”

“Didn’t you tell him that you can be a mutt and still be an ally? Well, so far he says you haven’t called-”

“Oh come on-”

Clay presses on like he hadn’t heard her. Maybe he didn’t. “ _And_ he says that he does want to be your ally. So you need to come home. To Stonehaven, I mean.” 

Her eyebrows shoot up. “Wow. You’re usually more on top of things than this.” 

Clay huffs and leans down to rest his forehead on her shoulder. “Yeah, well.” 

Elena shrugs him off. “Stop it. Also let me go.” 

“Will you come to Stonehaven?” 

“No.” 

“Then we’re staying right here until you change your mind,” he says and makes a show of getting comfortable on the ground. That’s all it is, she tells herself, a show. And if it’s a show, she can play along. 

“Then I hope you like eating pine needles, because I’m not going to.” 

Clay grins, the expression so familiar that she smiles back reflexively before she realizes what she’s doing and looks away, heart pounding. His hand slides up to her shoulder, trying to turn her back, but she pulls away. _At least I’m strong enough for that._ She thinks, glaring out at the trees. They sit in silence for a long time. 

“How are the others?” she asks eventually, partly to avoid returning to the previous subject and partly because she genuinely wants to know. 

“Fine.”

Her eyebrows fly up automatically, slipping into old patterns. She turns back to him. “Oh good. Thanks Clay, that’s great.”

Clay rolls his eyes. “Ok. Jeremy is mad at you but he’s fine. Nick is the same. Antonio wanted me to tell you not to worry about what happened-” 

Elena frowns, assuming that he’s talking about the train incident. “Ok, I wasn’t?” 

Clay frowns back. “You- never mind. Nick said-”

“What? What never mind?” 

Clay shrugs. “He’s hurt.” 

Elena blanches, imagining him throwing himself at a moving train, trying to chase it down to the point that he blew a joint, a thousand images each more ridiculous than the last. “Hurt how? What happened?”

Clay gives her a long look. “I meant that you hurt his feelings. He’s...he thought you would talk to him or something. He thought that you two got closer over Christmas, and that maybe you were in California to talk. But don’t worry about it, I’m sure he’s over it.”

Elena struggles not to drop her eyes, mortified and desperate for something, anything else to talk about, but her mind is going on without her. Antonio had been hurt. Had she hurt the others? They hadn’t done anything to her, not like Clay, except for throwing her a Christmas party. And she had hurt Antonio. Had she made Peter sad? What about Logan? 

She unsticks her throat, reminding herself that she didn’t owe them a thing. “You’re sure? You don’t know?”

Clay shrugs. “I’ve been away looking for you.” 

“Right,” Elena says, slowly, still thinking back to California. She hadn’t even considered talking to Antonio, not about any of it. All she had thought about was getting away before he could call Jeremy or Clay. 

Abruptly, Elena finds herself being moved, shifted forward, pulled to her feet. She blinks, surprised at suddenly being vertical. Clay is still holding her by both arms. “Food?” 

Elena rolls her eyes, embarrassed in spite of herself. “Ok you don’t have to-”

“I’m hungry.” 

“Good for you. I don’t particularly want to change back, so why don’t you go, and I’ll stay right here.” 

Clay shoots her a glare. “Right. What if we went for a swim instead?” 

Elena wants to shoot back, _What if you just left?_ But she knows that he won’t go until they reach some kind of agreement or she knocks him out. One is more tempting than the other, but both will take time. Either way, she might as well get clean. “Where’s the river?” 

Clay gestures over his shoulder with his thumb. “Back that way.” 

“Fine.” Elena starts in that direction without another glance. Clay follows behind her, nonplussed. The forest hums with life around them now that they’re not in wolf form, the creatures a little more confidant. It would be peaceful, if not for the company. 

“Is Marsten alive?” she asks, mostly to fill the silence. She’s pretty sure she knows the answer already. 

Clay actually has the gall to look confused. “Yes?”

“I had dinner with him,” she comments lightly, wondering if he’ll explode, maybe give her some kind of opening. He doesn’t. 

“In Argentina, I know.” 

Elena stops and fixes him with a stern look. “I was told that you were killing mutts. By him.”

“Oh.” Clay shrugs. “I’m not so worried about him. The worst he’s likely to do is kidnap you for leverage.”

“And that’s just fine I guess.” She rolls her eyes and continues walking, only to be stopped by Clay stepping into her path. 

Clay gives her a stern look that would have her cracking a smile if it weren’t for the real fear she can see in his eyes. “It is fine compared to the others.”

A chill runs up her spine but she ignores it. “Do you want me to thank you?”

“No, I just want you safe.” 

“I can take care of myself.”

“That’s-” 

“I _want_ to take care of myself,” Elena says, and walks off again. She’ll take a bath by herself if he wants to stay behind and be a child. It’s close, she can hear it. He follows, of course, but at a better distance this time. 

They reach the river and slide right in. As soon as she drops under the water, Elena is hit with the memory of another swim. Clay had taken her out to a lake when she was still in school, and thrown her in clothes and all. She had laughed so hard she swallowed the water and threw it back up, making Clay laugh too. But that was before. 

She resurfaces and sees Clay floating a few feet away, eyes closed. “All good?” 

“Wonderful,” Elena shoots back, freshly irritated. 

Clay sighs. “Ok.” 

Elena rolls her eyes and swims away from him, wondering what she should do. Getting rid of Clay is not going to be easy. She wants him gone, badly. Every time he looks at her she’s reminded of everything she’d been trying to leave behind. 

Suddenly, hands wind around her waist and lift her up. She gasps and twists, glaring. “Funny.” 

“I thought so,” Clay says, sliding his thumbs along her skin. Elena wishes he would stop. He keeps touching her, but there’s no sexual undertone to it. Smart man, which is part of the problem. He’s hard to trick. 

“You always liked simple humor,” she tosses back, just to see his eyes narrow. They don’t. Clay shrugs. It’s disconcerting, so she squirms away from him and crawls back onto the shore. He follows her, dripping onto the leaves. He looks good, which really just rubs salt into the wound. The seemingly perfect package. Elena looks away. 

“Thought about what you’re going to do?” 

Elena snorts. “Well _I’m_ going to Alaska, but you should go back to New York,” she says, trying to ignore to way his eyes light up when she outs herself. Damn. “I know how much you hate being away from Jeremy for long.” 

He grins, evidently pleased to have a location. “Yeah I do, but not knowing where you are is worse.” 

She sends him a dry look. “Come on.”

“It is. I’ve done both now so I know.” 

“Well, tough. Sometimes we don’t get to choose.” 

“Ok, look,” Clay says, stepping back into her space and hooking an arms around her shoulders. “I’ll go with you.” 

Elena rolls her eyes. “No you won’t. You’d become a mutt.”

The look on his face could kill someone. “No, I’d just be...gone for awhile. Jeremy will give me permission.”

“I’m sure. Do I have to remind you that you don’t want to leave Stonehaven?”

The other arm comes up, pulling her closer. She steadfastly ignores him, determined not to respond. Clay doesn’t seem to mind. “No, I don’t, but you’re not giving me much choice.”

Elena narrows her eyes. “Don’t put this on me. And that’s rich coming from you, by the way. We wouldn’t be in this situation at all if-”

His arms tighten around her. “I know. Trust me I know.”

They stand in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Clay speaks again. “Ok, come back to Stonehaven,” he says, like it’s a brand new idea. 

Elena snorts. “Once again-”

“If you’re afraid to do it because you think you might stay, that’s no reason to-”

“I’m not,” she shoots back, even though she kind of is. 

“Everyone is worried. Logan and Peter were both pretty upset,” Clay says, no doubt having picked up on her weakness from earlier. “Logan even wanted to come out looking for you too, but-”

“Stop it.” 

He does, falling silent but not looking away. Elena shrugs him off her shoulder and picks at her fingers, thinking. 

“Ok look, I’m not going with you back to Stonehaven,” she says, trying to insert some finality into her tone. Clay opens his mouth, so she puts her hand over it. “But I will come with you back to town. We can call Jeremy and set up that friendship he’s so excited about.” 

Clay narrows his eyes at her, as though trying to decide if this is a trap or not. Elena rolls hers. “I’m not going to hit you over the head and run, ok?” she says, even though she definitely still might do that. 

She lets go and puts her hands on her hips. “I want this done. We can call Jeremy, I’ll talk to him, we can figure out some new set of rules, and then you go home. Ok?” 

He sighs and rubs at the back of his neck. “I feel like you know that I’m not going to do that.” 

“Just lead me to believe that you are so we can get out of the woods. I’m cold.” 

Clay shrugs. “Alright.” 

He walks away, off in the direction of town. Elena stares after him, wondering how far away he’ll let himself get before he stops. She sighs and follows him before she finds out, tired of the game and not entirely sure where she’s going or what she’ll do when she gets there. Calling Jeremy is a good idea. But after? She doesn’t know. It’s a feeling she had long gotten used to. 

Her fingers twitch with the instinct to change, even though she had already spent so much time as a wolf already. It’s there though, always. Elena rolls it out of her shoulders for now and pads after Clay, confidant only in the fact that whatever she does, it will be her choice to do it.


End file.
